


A Good Fit

by naomin



Series: what not to wearuri [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (for like two seconds don't get too excited), Dress Up, M/M, Panty Kink, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 08:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2262252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naomin/pseuds/naomin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after Levi joins the Corps, his wardrobe (or lack thereof) catches Erwin's attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Fit

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mean for "Erwin and Levi give each other sexually charged fashion input" to become a series at all (and I'm not even sure if this fic takes place in the same universe as "Suitably Attired", though I guess it could be read as a prequel or something), but they're both kind of thematically similar(?) and I couldn't resist the dumb wordplay title, so, series it is! 
> 
> Confession: I am actually not especially familiar with ACWNR, so if anything here is wildly contradictory to that, please pretend that it takes place in some kind of weird non-ACWNR AU.

It starts out simply enough.

“There’s a problem, Erwin,” Mike says one day, poking his head into Erwin’s office. “With Levi.” Then he sees the look on Erwin’s face, and backs up slightly. “Well, not a _problem_ , really. Just…something that’s come up.”

The correction doesn’t do much to lessen the ache that lately starts to form at Erwin’s temples automatically as soon someone comes to him wanting to talk about Levi. In the beginning, Erwin had expected that Levi would be quick to adjust to life as a soldier, and that his distrustful and caustic demeanor would fade away as he grew more accustomed to those around him. But now months have passed, and things can still be counted on to “come up” with Levi at a rate of about once or twice per week.

“If he’s hurt someone again, give him punishment work and remind him that if he has a real problem with one of the other soldiers, he needs to tell someone about it,” Erwin says, not even bothering to look up from the report he’s in the middle of reviewing. “Everybody should know that already. You don’t need to keep coming to me about every little thing.”

“It’s not that.” Erwin hears the door click closed as Mike walks all the way into his office, and fights back the urge to groan, already wondering how many hours he’s going to have to waste smoothing things over after whatever latest trouble Levi’s caused.

“There was some kind of event a few evenings ago,” Mike continues. “All the newer recruits had to show up, even Levi…”

Erwin can remember it well enough from his own younger years, the brief but unbearable series of ceremonies and formal dinners back in the early days when it had still been possible to pretend that life in the Survey Corps was something heroic and honorable. He winces on Levi’s behalf. “And?”

“Well, everyone was out of uniform, and apparently Levi wasn’t dressed very well.”

Erwin braces himself for a story about Levi being insulted by some snob of a nobleman and responding by attempting to stab the offender with a butter knife. But, it seems, Mike has nothing else to add. After an awkwardly long pause, Erwin finally asks. “Is that all?” 

“Yes. I wasn’t even there, but I heard someone mention it afterwards. They said that he stood out from the others.” 

“That hardly sounds like something worth bringing to me,” Erwin says, privately thinking that Levi would have been certain to stand out from the rest of the new soldiers no matter how he was dressed. “If it was really a problem, why couldn’t he just borrow something from one of the others?” 

Mike’s eyebrows rise slightly. “Do you really think Levi would be willing to do that? Or that anyone would be willing to give him their things?”  

Erwin can’t help but nod in acknowledgement. The difference in ages between Levi and most of the other new recruits, coupled with a personality that Erwin’s heard referred to as “antisocial” (among other, more profane, things) several times during the last few months, means that a comradely bond between Levi and his fellow soldiers has been slow to form, and Erwin is almost certain that Levi would be too proud to accept charity anyway. 

And it’s true, now that he thinks about it, that Levi _is_ probably rather shabby compared to the rest. While few of the other soldiers come from particularly good backgrounds – rich families generally opting to pull any strings possible to avoid sending their children off to death in the Corps – only Levi’s been pulled right off the streets, with probably nothing but the clothes on his back.

“But still,” Erwin says. “The only thing that matters is how Levi _fights_ , not how he dresses.”

“Of course,” Mike nods. “But he’s having enough trouble fitting in with everybody else already, so…I thought you might like to know. That’s all.” 

“What do you expect me to do, take him shopping?” Erwin can’t resist chuckling at the thought, and he can see that Mike has the same reaction.

“…But really,” Mike says, at last. “Maybe he should get a month or two of pay early. Let him get all the things he needs, and maybe he’ll stop being so damn sour all the time.”

Erwin nods, pondering.

 

-

 

He isn’t aware that he’s even thinking about Levi, later that night, but at some point on his way home Erwin finds himself staring into the window of one of the city’s better boutiques. The idea of actually taking Levi there is every bit as ridiculous as it had been earlier – it’s rather unlikely that someone like Levi would even be allowed in a shop like this, to begin with, Survey Corps or no – and Erwin had come away from the conversation with every intention of finding a little extra money for Levi, just as Mike had suggested, and then saving his time and attention for more serious concerns from now on. 

But now he’s here, in front of the shop, and as long as he’s here he can’t help but notice that there’s a rather nice jacket displayed inside, one that would be perfectly appropriate for a young soldier occasionally required to look presentable.

“Commander Smith!” He’s been noticed by the store’s owner, who eagerly comes out to greet him. Soldiers may be unwelcome in some parts of town, but Erwin and several of the other high-ranking officers have enough of a need for good clothing that they can be counted on as profitable customers. Erwin lets himself be waved inside. It can’t, he reasons to himself, hurt anything to get a better look.

It’s late, and it’s clear that Erwin’s arrived just as the shop’s about to close for the night, but the owner leaps into action, all too happy to answer Erwin’s questions about the jacket that’s caught his eye. 

“Our finest wool, a simple enough design, but perfect for almost any occasion. What good taste you have, Commander!”  

Erwin doesn’t know anything about fashion, and normally isn’t even very particular about his own clothing, but he finds that he likes the jacket more the longer he looks at it. It’s a very dark blue, and the fabric is soft but sturdy. It’s probably better quality than anything Levi’s owned in his entire life, Erwin guesses, and for a second he imagines Levi trying it on, sliding his arms into the sleeves and fastening the buttons one by one until he looks as well-dressed and handsome as a young man from any noble family. The jacket is also far too expensive for Levi to afford, even if he received several months’ worth of pay in advance. And yet… 

“I’ll take it,” Erwin says, not giving himself a chance for second thoughts.

“Oh…” The shop’s owner glances from Erwin to the jacket, slight concern breaking though the veneer of cheery salesmanship. “This one will be too small for you, I'm afraid, but I can have another made to fit you within a month if you’d like…”  

“It’s not for me,” Erwin reassures the man quickly. “In fact…” Out of the corner of his eye he sees the owner’s apprentice, a sullen-looking boy of about the same age as many of the newest recruits. Erwin gestures to him. “Could he try it on? It’s for someone about the same size…” 

The apprentice is skinnier than Levi, and a little longer in the leg, but their heights are close enough, and Erwin’s able to determine with a sufficient amount of certainty that the jacket will fit Levi well. He leaves the shop with it under his arm, carefully folded and wrapped in paper. 

“Your son will cut quite the figure in it, I'm sure,” the shop owner smiles as he sees Erwin out the door.

Erwin blinks. “My son?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, is it for a nephew, then? Or someone else? I never did ask…”

Erwin leaves, before anybody can notice him struggling not to laugh. That evening, as he’s preparing for bed, he catches himself glancing over at the jacket again and again.

 

-

 

He doesn't give it to Levi himself, instead arranging to have it delivered to Levi at the barracks the next morning. He doesn’t ask that Levi to be told who’s responsible for the gift, either. Erwin doesn’t really know why - well, perhaps if he was really pressed he would _possibly_ admit that there really is something a little strange about buying clothing for a subordinate – but he’s also fairly sure that the idea of accepting anything from him will be unwelcome to Levi. He allows himself to spend a few minutes imagining Levi opening the package – reacting with happiness and not suspicion, Erwin would hope, though he knows that’s most likely just wishful thinking – and even trying the jacket on, slipping the fine material over his worn-out everyday clothes, but beyond that Erwin does his best to tell himself that he needs to put the entire matter out of his mind.

He _is_ , to his credit, able to forget about Levi for the better part of the day, until Mike drops by again. 

“Did you actually buy Levi a _suit_?” Mike asks.

“Just a jacket,” Erwin says, trying to make it sound like the most reasonable thing in the world.

“Really?  That wasn’t what I meant, yesterday. You could have just let him find something himself. You didn't use your own money, did you?”

“It wasn’t anything expensive,” Erwin says, which is a little bit of a lie, and then, “I didn’t mind at all,” which isn't.

“Oh, well, he got it, at least. Some of the other new kids were talking about it earlier.”

“Do you know if he likes it?” Erwin asks hopefully.

Mike gives him a mystified look. “What?”

 

-

 

As Erwin’s leaving his office that day it occurs to him that Levi probably doesn’t have a good pair of trousers, either. Levi can’t be expected to afford something nice enough to match the jacket on his own, Erwin knows, so he ends up making another trip to the same shop on the way home. It’s a little harder to guess the size this time, but Erwin hopes that what he ends up with is close enough.

“What a lucky boy your nephew is!” the owner beams, carefully making note of the newest purchase.

“Hmm,” Erwin says vaguely. The apprentice boy is there today, too, and Erwin’s eye has been caught by his shoes, which are sturdily and handsomely made out of brown leather.

“Is there a good place to buy boots near here?” he finds himself asking.

 

-

 

Erwin rarely sees Levi during the course of his daily life – Levi’s days are taken up by training and learning the procedures for expeditions outside the walls - but about a week later he’s just leaving a meeting when he hears a snatch of conversation floating through the room’s open window.

“…So I had to pay the tailor _again_ , it’s unbelievable.” A whiny young man, just below the window by the sound of it, but it’s the next part that really makes Erwin’s ears perk up. “Wish my clothes just _appeared_ , like _somebody’s_ do.”  

“Shut up.” That voice is instantly recognizable. Erwin slides carefully closer to the window – thankfully, he’s the only person left in the room – and peers out. Levi and two young soldiers are on the ground below, doing some kind of chore, most likely, though that seems to have been forgotten by now. 

“Something like that happened to my sister once, you know,” the other boy chimes in. “Someone started sending her all this underwear.“ 

“ _Underwear?”_ the first boy interrupts, sounding both disbelieving and intrigued.

“Yeah! And she didn't know who it was, and then he started sending her notes saying he wanted to see her wearing it, too, and we _still_ didn’t know who it was, so in the end we had to go to the police and-“

“What the _fuck_?” Even looking down from the second floor, Erwin can see the look of disgust on Levi’s face. “Don't say weird shit like that.”

“It’s probably some kind of pervert in your case, too,” the boy says, nodding wisely. Erwin is suddenly and overwhelmingly grateful that none of the three of them have glanced up to his window throughout the conversation.

He’s about to leave them to their business and go back to his office – where he can nurse his wounded pride a little bit, because, “some kind of pervert”, _really_ – when he hears Levi speak again.

“Well, whatever,” Levi scoffs. “If someone wants to waste their money on me, they can go ahead, as long as they keep whatever weird shit they’re into to themselves. Especially if they send me some boots that actually fit, the ones I got the other day were _tiny._ ”

The conversation outside moves on. Erwin heads back to his office, feeling heartened and making a mental note to pick up a bigger pair of boots as soon as he has the time.

 

-

 

Over the next few weeks, Erwin buys Levi not just another pair of boots (still a little unsure about the size, but hoping that he’s got it right this time), but some socks, a silk shirt to go with the jacket and trousers, and, after the first day of really cold autumn weather, a coat with a warm fur lining. He tries to select his gifts – they really are gifts, now, he really can’t pretend that it’s responsibility compelling him to continue to buy Levi clothing – thoughtfully, choosing items that are practical, well-made, and not overly ostentatious. He doesn’t get another chance to learn what Levi thinks of the mysterious additions to his wardrobe, but once or twice he gets a glimpse of Levi among the other soldiers, looking sharp in his new boots and coat, and it makes Erwin’s heart swell with pride.

 

-

 

One evening, Erwin’s just about to leave for the night when the door to his office swings open.

He glances up rather irritably, about to demand what kind of business anybody could have at such a late hour, but the words die on his lips. Levi’s standing there, staring at him with an intensity Erwin can’t quite identify.

“Levi? What-?” 

“You know what you’ve been doing,” Levi interrupts, stalking across the room to Erwin’s desk.

Erwin swallows, trying to think of the best way to explain himself.

“You know what you’ve been doing to me,” Levi repeats, before Erwin can say anything. He walks around the desk, coming to stand right in front of Erwin’s chair. This close, Erwin can see that Levi’s wearing the shirt and trousers he got from Erwin.

Levi’s scowling, but his cheeks are strangely flushed. Erwin only gets a moment to notice this, however, because next Levi starts to undo the buttons at the collar of his shirt.

“I can’t believe this,” Levi snarls, yanking at the buttons with shaking fingers. “You doing this shit, making me feel this way.”

“Oh,” Erwin manages to say, eyes glued to the pale skin that’s being revealed button by button. Levi’s only a few feet away, and Erwin can see every faded scar, every bruise from training. 

Levi finishes unbuttoning his shirt, letting it hang open off his shoulders. His hands move down to his belt.

“ _Levi?”_ Erwin’s eyes flick up to glance nervously at the half-open door, but the rest of his body is frozen in place.

Levi tosses his belt behind him onto Erwin’s desk and undoes his fly. Underneath, he’s wearing something black and silky, with a hint of what looks like lace... 

“This is a dream, isn’t it?” Erwin realizes suddenly, feeling a mixture of disappointment and relief.

Levi – the dream version of Levi – gives him a withering look, still half-undressed. “What do you _think?_ ”  

“I’m not a pervert.” Erwin says, still not quite able to pull his eyes off of the dark lace on pale skin.

Dream Levi rolls his eyes and starts to pull his pants off.

 

 

Erwin wakes up later with a hard-on like he hasn’t had since his teenage years, feeling rather unsettled. He doesn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

 

-

 

“Hey,” Hange says loudly one day, as Erwin and most of the other squad leaders are finishing up plans for the next expedition. “My favorite shirt got all messed up when I was running experiments yesterday, you know.”

Erwin realizes that everyone’s looking at him, with varying degrees of knowingness and amusement on their faces. 

“What?” 

“I _said_ ,” Hange repeats, barely holding back laughter. “I sure wish somebody would get me a new shirt!”

“Get one yourself.” Erwin turns his attention back to folding up the maps on the table.

“Yeah, but, I heard that there’s someone just _giving_ clothing away, apparently.” Chuckles rise up from more than a few sources around the room.

“It’s for the best to make sure that the soldiers have what they need,” Erwin says.   

“But _seriously,_ Erwin, _all_ that stuff, and it doesn’t look cheap either…”

“Is it really that strange?” Erwin asks Mike later. 

Mike just looks at him for a while.

“It's kind of strange,” he says at last.

 

-

 

A few days later Levi really does come into Erwin’s office late in the afternoon, pushing the door open with such force that it bangs against the wall. He storms across the room to stand in front of Erwin’s desk, eyes blazing.

“What is it, Levi?” Erwin asks, trying not to look startled. The situation is a little too familiar. Erwin remembers silk and lace, and tries to push the thought aside. 

“What the _fuck_ have you been doing?” Levi spits out. He tosses something onto Erwin’s desk, on top of the maps and documents. It’s the jacket, the first thing that Erwin had gotten for him.

“Ah.” The decidedly unaroused tone of Levi’s voice, coupled with the fact that Levi’s wearing a uniform still grimy from the training grounds, not any of the gift clothing, is enough to put Erwin slightly at ease, even though Levi’s looking at him like he wants to kill him. “I was going to tell you eventually, I’m sorry. I got a little…carried away.”

“ _Carried away?_ ” Levi repeats incredulously. “It was all you, wasn’t it? For all that time, for _weeks!_? I thought…I don't know what I thought, I can’t _believe_ this shit...” 

“I just wanted to make sure that you had everything you needed.” Erwin says. “It’s my job to be aware of what condition my soldiers are in.”

“Really? So, you buy things for everyone!?”

Erwin can’t think of anything to say to that.

“Do you know how fucking _weird_ it was?” Levi goes on. “Like, when you sent me the boots and then _another_ pair of boots when the first pair didn't fit, how the fuck did you even _know_ about that?“

“The boots were weird,” Erwin agrees. “I’m sorry, Levi. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Levi looks a little taken aback, and Erwin can see his anger seep away just a bit. “I didn't say I was _uncomfortable_ ,” he says at last. “I just…shit, it was all really _good_ stuff too, I could tell. Why did you get all that for me?”

“I liked seeing you wear it,” Erwin says, without really thinking.

Levi gives him a look. “Oh, really?” Erwin can guess what’s running through his mind with unpleasant certainty.

“Well, you shouldn’t have bothered.” Levi continues at last, with a frustrated sigh. He waves a disdainful hand at the jacket that’s lying crumpled on Erwin’s desk. “You can have that back, and I’ll bring everything else over later. Do whatever you want with it, but I don't want it.” 

Erwin can’t stop himself from frowning. It’s unavoidable if Levi’s mad at him – Erwin’s probably had it coming, if he’s being perfectly honest with himself – but Levi getting rid of everything that Erwin’s gotten for him defeats the purpose of everything he's done for the past several weeks. “Are you sure?” he asks. “You really do need some better clothes, Levi, the weather’s going to get colder soon, and-“

“And I’ll get them myself, or make do with what I’ve got,” Levi interrupts. “I don’t need your charity.”

“I didn’t do it as charity, Levi-“

“Oh, so you want something in return?” Levi’s eyebrows fly up, and he looks incredulous and a little scornful. “Okay, I’m _definitely_ giving it all back.”

“That’s not what I meant at all,” Erwin argues weakly, trying to make himself heard before Levi cuts him off again. “They were all gifts, Levi. I would never ask anything of you beyond what you’re already giving as a soldier.”

“That doesn't make any _sense_ ,” Levi insists. He sounds more frustrated than angry now. 

“I suppose I like doing nice things for you,” Erwin says. He gets the words out before he can second-guess them, just like he had done back in the store that first evening.

For what feels like a very long time, Levi just stares at Erwin in bewildered silence, as if waiting for a punchline. Erwin says nothing. He waits to see whether he’s just made the situation better or worse. 

“Well, don’t do it anymore,” Levi says at last.

“Of course. Not if you want me not to.”

Levi scoffs, but seems to be less angry than before. He opens his mouth as if to speak, and then closes it again. At last, he turns, shaking his head incredulously as he starts to move towards the door.

“Wait, Levi,” Erwin calls after him. When Levi pauses, glancing back over his shoulder, Erwin gestures at his desk. “You forgot your jacket.”

He doesn’t really expect anything, so it’s a total surprise when Levi actually turns around and comes back, reaching for the jacket he had cast away so adamantly only minutes earlier. Levi picks it up with a degree of attention that also comes as a surprise, holding it carefully and brushing at some of the wrinkles that are threatening to form in the blue wool.

“It’ll hold its shape better if you wear it back,” Erwin finds himself saying. “Or, maybe I have a hanger somewhere, I could lend it to you…” 

“You want to see me wearing it, don’t you,” Levi says, giving Erwin a weary look.

That honestly hadn’t been Erwin’s intention – not really, at least – but now that Levi’s suggested it…“If you want,” he says, trying to be diplomatic. “Does it fit you well, by the way? I tried to get one that seemed like the right size, but all I had to go by was a guess, really.”

“It’s fine,” Levi answers, tone indifferent. He starts to pull the jacket on – even though Erwin really is ready to go find a hanger – and pauses. “I’ll get it dirty,” he says, grimacing down at his uniform.

“It can be cleaned,” Erwin says. “It’s yours. Use it however you want.”

“You can’t buy me another one if anything happens to this,” Levi says. Erwin can’t quite read the expression on his face, but one side of Levi’s mouth is curved up just a little, which is probably a good sign. 

Erwin smiles back. “I won’t.”

Levi snorts, and puts the jacket on. He’s not wearing the uniform jacket, and so the one from Erwin fits smoothly over the rest of his clothing, even the straps of his gear. He fastens the buttons one at a time, and then looks over to where Erwin’s watching him.

“Looks pretty stupid like this,” he says.

“I don’t think so,” Erwin tells him.

Levi rolls his eyes, and walks out of Erwin’s office without saying another word, or waiting to be excused. He doesn’t bother to close the door behind him, and Erwin can watch him walk down the hall, a small figure in scuffed uniform pants and boots, and a very nice jacket. The blue is a lovely contrast with Levi’s pale skin and dark hair, just as Erwin had imagined.

Erwin watches him until he’s out of sight and then starts to turn his attention back to work, heart warm inside his chest.  


End file.
